Pregnancy and you blog

What's your birth story?

I was helping with a labor and birth several years ago. I'll call the couple Adam and Eve. They were working well together. Labor was advancing and the contractions were getting stronger.

It was part of Eve's birth plan to use an epidural for pain management. Between contractions, Eve let me know that she still wanted an epidural — but not quite yet.

Adam was puzzled and asked Eve why she didn't get the epidural now since she knew she wanted it. Eve and I looked at each other and I finally told Adam that he really wouldn't be able to understand it.

Eve had set a goal for herself about when she would get the epidural. She might not have shared that goal with anyone. It was her personal target — what she wanted to achieve during this labor and birth. It was important to her for a reason that she couldn't put into words.

Eve will carry this birth story for the rest of her life. You'll carry your birth story, too. It'll shape you in ways you might not have imagined.

Your birth story will also earn you positive strokes from other women, from grandmothers and aunts to friends and strangers. You'll experience a certain amount of admiration when you describe the 10-pound baby born without an epidural — and an equal amount of sympathy when you tell the tale of the 36-hour labor with an epidural that didn't work followed by a C-section or stitches out the wazoo. And believe me, other women know where the wazoo is!

If you've given birth, you're likely to have an understanding of those things that are unsaid during labor — such as why Eve wanted to wait for her epidural. I don't say this to disrespect men. I believe that sharing in the birth process changes them, too. I'm afraid I just understand women better.

I was a forceps delivered baby who is now 39 years old.I was told when I was young I had muscle spasms.damage to the right side of my head happened during birth .this resulted in every type of seizure know to exist,which with only some of the best specialist doctors in the world which we have at st.Vincent's and brain surgery has helped fix ? Who will ever really know, so make up your own mind ,would you want to live with a major brain malfunction

justin

January 5, 2013 1:02 p.m.

I had a pretty normal pregnancy, I loved it. But then I was 9 days over due when I went in for the first gel at 8am on a saturday, was in pain all day went back for 2nd gel at 8pm. Then come sunday morning went back to hospital to be induced. By 7pm they were going to send me home for not dilating much then my water broke and I finally got to 10cm. I pushed hard for over an hr with no progress baby's hrt rt increased and I had a fever so I had a csection. That went fine its what happened next that didnt go so well. After they got baby out (3:57am mon)they started to work on getting my uterus to contract back down it wouldnt. They worked on me for 2hrs injecting me with the max they could of anything they could to help with no success I had lost a 1&amp;1/2ltrs of blood and the dr looked over the drape and said they have to do hysterectomy so I was put out. I woke up to find out the dr that came in did B-lynch compression suture instead to save the uterus. Long story short I ended up with endometriosis, infection in uterus &amp; incision a hematoma under incision, bled for over 9mnths straight after and now its been over 2yrs and I'm still in major pain in the uterus and the drs wont do a hysterectomy or scopes to see how much scar tissue damage there is and tell us not sure if it would be safe to have another baby. Lets just say its been an emotional/painful rollercoaster ride for 2yrs and we dont have any answers as to why. But our baby is happy and healthy so thats the main

Kathy

November 7, 2012 2:05 p.m.

This is my 3rd baby and with the other 2 I didn't wear any kind of support or post-partum support, anything, no wraps, nothing and I can remember being somewhere with my son when he was like a week old and someone asked me oh you're due again with your other baby? and it was horrifying so with this baby I swore that it wouldn't happen and with the postpartum girdle I purchased, it did not happen. My boy is 3 months old and I still wear it. If I'm going to go out and do something or I want to make sure that I look nice and skinny, I put it on. The first 2 months that I had it I wore it constantly day and night. And i can tell you within probably the 1st week of wearing it, I was post-natally a week out, probably where I was with my kids 3 months out, in terms of aesthetically the way that I looked. I mean, it really really really saved my life and really sucked my stomach in. I had a natural birth and using a postpartum girdle works. That's all I can say, it works and people were amazed with the results. My husband is always like &quot;Babe you're looking great&quot;, this is awesome. So I highly recommend this to any new moms. I'm just so happy about the speed of my postpartum recovery. I love the one without the zipper on the side, it's super easy to get on, it's comfortable, you can wear it for long periods of time and helps with support, helps with everything and most importantly, it gives you confidence.

Sasha

November 2, 2012 11:53 a.m.

With my oldest daughter, the first 8 months of the pregnancy were great,other than struggling with the heat and humidity in Virginia! Around the 9th month,every time she moved she had me almost doubled over in pain! The doctor said that because I didn't have much fluid not only were her movements restricted, but I would feel EVERY one of them! As long as it wasn't a constant pain, all was good. Coming into my 38th week, we faced a huge move,from Virginia to Washington state. My doctor gave me special permission to fly,as he did not want me to go into labor in the middle of nowhere,crossing the country. That was the WORST flight experience I have ever had! It felt like I had a severe cold,and my side was constantly in pain. I had an appointment with the family doctor in WA an hour after I landed, and he said I did have a cold,but everything looked fine. 40 weeks: 3 days after my due date, my water broke @ 9:50am. In bed. I'm sure many of you know that feeling! At the hospital my labor was progressing normally. When the pain was getting really bad,I asked for an epidural. My doctor said no,he doesn't believe in them!!Don't you think that is something that he might have told me when we discussed the birthing plan?! So all I was able to get for pain relief was some Demoral. Didn't even take the edge off! She was born at 10:20pm, was blue/black as the cord was wrapped around her neck. With the aid of several dr's, she came back and is a wonderful, obnoxious teenager now!!!

April

October 27, 2012 10:30 a.m.

My first was a planned home birth. My water broke on a Thursday night, contractions got stronger, my midwife came to check on my Friday morning. I had not dilated so she manually dilated me to 1cm. I labored the rest of the day and finally having contractions every 2 minutes called for my midwife to come again. She came and stayed the night with me. She and my husband never left my side. When I was ready for her to check my progression I was still 1cm! I got in the bathtub for about 5 hours to try and relax because I was having contractions more than 2 minutes apart. Finally Saturday morning she checked one last time, I was only 1.5cm and my cervix was swelling from the baby's head repeatedly hitting and not getting anywhere. At this point I had conceided to going to the hospital as I was utterly exhausted (36 hours!). The car trip was excruciating and when I got to the hospital I got a (compasionate)epidural and took a few hours to nap. I woke up refreashed and ready to go! The nurses checked me frequently (at least 8 times in the 8 hours I was there). I dilated to 4cm within a couple hours, and after a total of 44 hours of labor I felt a different pressure and said, " I think it's time," and my son was born after 2 solid pushes.
17 months later I went into labor with my daughter when my water broke again. 4 hours of good strong contractions, 6 minutes of pushing, she was born in a birth pool in my kitchen and we cuddled in bed all night together. Amazi

Mychal

October 18, 2012 7:44 a.m.

Cindy that is a terrific story. Many women do not enjoy pregnancy at all. My sister was one who hated pregnancy but labored quickly and delivered without any issues. The babies always made up for the awful labor. Thanks for sharing your story.

Mary@Mayo

October 9, 2012 7:40 a.m.

My Story Part II
My second daughter was born 2 years and 4 months after the first. The pregnancy was very similar to the first, EXCEPT this time I was sick from 5 weeks to 14! I never dreamt it was possible to be even sicker than I was the first time. I also lost 20 lbs and then only regained 20 during the pregnancy so was very thin on the rest of my body. Months 4 - 6 were not too bad, months 7 - 9 were awful but no more 18 hours of sleep per day, I had a 2 year old to look after! In a sense it made it better because I was forced to carry on no matter how awful I was feeling. I also forced myself to stay more positive.
Again the birth was very easy, labor and delivery were over within about 6 hours, when I arrived at the hospital, not even sure if I was in labor, I was already open 6 :) ! This time they put me directly into the Birthing Room and the baby was born not long after (I had already decided against an epidural). She had the cord around her neck several times but thankfully with skilled midwives and doctors everything went smoothly. This time the baby weighed 3.9 kilos which is considered HUGE here! Still no stiches this time either, our God is full of tender compassions and mercies. Again I was so full of positive energy after not enjoying the pregnancy one bit. My advice to pregnant women: stay positive, expect pain in delivery, you can't even imagine the joy you will have after giving birth to your baby: truly a gift from God. And, share your story!

Cindy, France

October 9, 2012 7:22 a.m.

2 weeks from being 24, I gave birth to my first baby, a girl weighing 3.580 K, which is considered a very good sized baby here. I was at 42 weeks, they used gel to soften the cervix and from there it proceeded like a normal labor and delivery. Labor started at about 1:30 in the morning, I slept until 4:00am, then was woken up with contractions getting a little more intense. This being my first baby, the midwives thought there was no rush but pretty soon I was '10' and I could finally push. She was born at 6:03am, in the Birth Prep room (no time to go to the birthing room or have an epidural) no complications whatsoever. I didn't even need stiches! It was only God's mercy that everything went so well and I have a healthy and normal little girl. However ... the pregnancy was HELL. I was totally SICK from 7 - 13 weeks, I vomitted several times a day, I lost 20lbs in 6 weeks. During the pregnancy I only regained the 20lbs so I was quite thin on the rest of my body. Months 4 - 6 were okay, not sick anymore and not so big I could still manouvre. Months 7 - 9 were terrible, my tummy was huge (I'm short so the baby had nowhere else to go but out), I slept 18 hours a day, had terrible leg pains, dizzy spells, was very depressed, even suicidal. I HATE PREGNANCY but giving birth was so easy by comparison, by the time she was born I had so much positive energy I felt like I could have cleaned the hospital from top to bottom and looked after all the other babies in the ward!!

Legal Conditions and Terms

Reprint Permissions

A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.org," "Mayo Clinic Healthy Living," and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.